Thought Malta’s jellyfish problem couldn’t get any worse? Think again.

Eyewitnesses have reported that a Mediterranean box jellyfish – a highly dangerous marine species – has been spotted in the Msida Marina.

Footage of the jellyfish was uploaded to Facebook group ‘JellyFish in Malta’ by eyewitness Elaine Zahra. It’s safe to say that readers weren’t too happy about the discovery…

With an umbrella diameter of around five centimetres and four long tentacles, the Mediterranean box jellyfish (carybdea marsupialis) packs a highly irritating and painful sting.

This species is most commonly spotted during Malta’s summer and autumn months, particularly in harbours, yacht marinas, and sandy seabeds. At night-time, the box jellyfish rises to the surface to feed on zooplankton.

On the bright side, the Mediterranean box jellyfish poses a much smaller risk to bathers than its Australian counterpart.

Nicknamed ‘the sea wasp’, the Australian box jellyfish (chironex fleckeri) is often considered as the most lethal jellyfish in the world, causing at least 64 deaths in Australia between 1884 and 2021.

Upon stinging its victims, the Australian box jellyfish releases a number of microscopic darts which, in turn, deliver an extremely powerful venom.

If the sting area is big enough, victims of this jellyfish can die in two to five minutes.

It’s a good thing we don’t need to worry about that in Malta!